The authority and the culture dance together. The company is a reflection of the leader, and the leader is a reflection of the company. We typically blame leadership for culture problems, but the dynamic goes both ways—just as chimpanzee troops co-create their social structure with their alpha.
In baboon research, trackers found that any individual—including the least dominant female—could lead the troop. What mattered was moving with directness and confidence. The alpha male was still the alpha male, but leadership came from anyone in the group.
“The culture affects the CEO as much as the CEO affects the culture. It is an actual dance.”
This means that when things go wrong, it’s not just the leader’s fault. And when a leader can’t get the culture they want, it might be because they’re fighting the group’s natural direction instead of harnessing it. Indigenous and primate cultures understand this—if the leader doesn’t treat everyone with respect, they don’t last long.
The practical implication: authority figures who recognize this dance work with the group’s intelligence rather than against it.